Re: How do I document vaporware?

[Janet Swisher <jmswisher -at- gmail -dot- com>]

On Wed, Jan 28, 2009 at 5:37 PM, Karen L. Zorn <k -dot- zorn -at- zorntech -dot- com> wrote:
> So I'm going to date myself and refer to the demise of a computing
> company waaaayyyyy back in the mid-80's. Not satisfied with the
> popularity of the first portable computer--it had a 3.5" screen, 2 5"
> floppy drives, was the size and weight of a sewing machine (about 25
> pounds), and ran on DOS; the company announced and highly publicized

Correction: it ran on CP/M. An Osborne 1 was the first computer I ever
bought, and I got my first job out of college in part based on my
knowledge of CP/M and WordStar.

> that they were developing the Vixen to be released "in the near future."
>
> Needless to say, folks stopped purchasing the door stop, the R&D money
> quickly dried up, and the Vixen never got past the pretty pictures of
> the mock-up.
>
> Now *that's* vaporware!

Actually, the Vixen was eventually released after the company emerged
from bankruptcy. Insiders say it was actually bad fiscal management
more than what has become known as "the Osborne effect" that led it
into bankruptcy.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osborne_Effect#The_Osborne_Myth>


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